


Quincentennial

by Shujinkakusama



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Birthday Presents, Cotton Candy Garnet, F/F, Fluff, Pearlnet Bomb, Pre-Series, Renegade Pearl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:16:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7499085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shujinkakusama/pseuds/Shujinkakusama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garnet sometimes thinks too far ahead to see what's actually coming. // Pearlnetbomb - Future. Fluffy pre-series nonsense. Mentions Rosepearl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quincentennial

Garnet could see infinite possibilities if she closed her eyes long enough. It was easy enough to get lost in these, to look down a potential stream until she lost her recollection of where vision began and reality ended.

 

She was ashamed—somewhat—to admit even to herself that many of these visions were to do with Pearl, and more specifically, to do with futures where Rose Quartz wasn’t a barrier between them. She could spend days at a time alone in the boiler room ruminating on the possibilities before the guilt set in—before realizing what she was doing—and then days more wherein she felt absolutely terrible for her inappropriate behavior.

 

But she couldn’t help the wanting. She couldn’t help the longing. She couldn’t help the desperate, burning want for Pearl to reciprocate her feelings.

 

And those feelings were transparent, Garnet was certain. Amethyst knew. Rose Quartz undoubtedly knew. Pearl might have known, and Garnet hoped she didn’t, because _if_ Pearl knew and hadn’t said anything yet…

 

Those futures were unsafe. Garnet was sure she would break if Pearl turned her down. She cried sometimes, when her visions reminded her of that possibility. The war was scarcely behind them. She was still a young Gem, compared to Pearl and Rose Quartz, and these feelings were overwhelming.

 

Pearl was an enigma, beautiful and dangerous, and Garnet had been fascinated with her from the moment they met—the moment she came into existence. Pearl was terrifying to see in action, and centuries later, Garnet had come to understand that she was also soft, sweet, and a thousand other marvelous descriptors that the Fusion prayed Pearl never knew she’d thought behind her back.

 

It was everything Garnet could do to keep a neutral façade around her, especially whenever Pearl would hold her arm or excitedly tug her along by the hands, out onto the beach. Pearl was a whirlwind of emotions, and she wore all of them on her sleeve, and Garnet was absolutely entranced by this. She could alternate between extremes in minutes, and sometimes that was disastrous, but other times…

 

When Pearl laughed until she cried, when she broke down giggling after Fusion with Amethyst or Rose Quartz, Garnet thought her heart would burst with joy. When she smiled, it was everything Garnet could do not to smile right back, and hiding her lingering gazes and too telling wide tri-colored eyes behind her visor was the only defense she had against how much sway Pearl had over her.

 

So when Garnet was drawn out of one of her many visions by Pearl herself, she nearly dropped into the lava pit completely. “Garnet?” Pearl asked, peeking in the doorway.

 

Garnet’s heart leapt into her throat, and she turned, angling her head up to see the slighter Gem. “Pearl,” she greeted, pushing herself out of the lava. “Do we have a mission?”

 

“Not today,” Pearl said, coming to stand a few paces away from the other Gem, hands folded behind her back. “I just… well, it’s silly.”

 

 _I wanted to see you_.

 

_I want you to touch…_

Garnet shook her head, swallowing against the lump in her throat that always seemed to form when she was least prepared to speak. Neither of those finishes were likely, and Garnet was perfectly aware that it was unfair to intercept Pearl mid-conversation. “I’m sure it’s not,” she said, managing a lopsided smile that she hoped was more cool than goofy.

 

“Well,” Pearl started, “It’s… Rose recently informed me of a human tradition. They call them ‘birthdays.’ It’s an annual reminder of one’s birth.”

 

She’d known it wasn’t either of the notions that came to mind first. Garnet nodded, carefully repelling lava droplets from her form without risking Pearl’s safety. Sapphire’s ice power was miraculous that way. “It sounds like a good tradition,” she said softly, “Although we Gems live too long to really count those things, right?”

 

“Yes,” Pearl coughed delicately, cheeks flushing a faint green in the warm light of the room. She licked her lips, betraying her nervousness, and Garnet fought the urge to do something she knew would cross several lines, even if it would take care of any dryness on Pearl’s lips. “Still, Rose pointed it out, and… well, I thought it would be appropriate to congratulate you. On the duration of your fusion.”

 

Garnet hadn’t expected that.

 

From behind her back, Pearl produced a small basket, woven out of some kind of long pine needles and hemp. The smaller Gem’s flush exploded across her face when Garnet reached uncertainly for the item. “I-it’s been five hundred years without interruption,” Pearl said hastily, “And I thought… Well, it’s silly, but I thought something commemorative would be appropriate. No Gem I’ve ever heard of could stay fused that long.”

 

Garnet couldn’t help herself; she brushed her fingers along the backs of Pearl’s hands when she took the basket, earning a delectable shudder from the smaller Gem. Stars above, she wondered if Pearl knew how lovely she was.

 

Inside the basket was a very simple bracelet, inexpertly woven in red and blue twine, with a single purple-painted shell bead at the center. Garnet’s eyes went wide, and she carefully extracted her gift, returning the basket to Pearl’s shaking hands.

 

She knew the answer without asking, but did so anyway; “Did you make this?”

 

“It’s not perfect,” Pearl said quickly, “I… I had to redo it several times, and the tension isn’t consistent, but I wanted to get it to you today, and—“

 

“It’s perfect,” Garnet corrected her gently, “I don’t know what to say.”

 

“I was worried you would see it coming,” Pearl admitted, tucking the basket into her Gem before reaching for the bracelet. “May I? It’s hard to tie one-handed.”

 

Garnet chuckled, extending her wrist and offering the gift back with an easy smile. “I’d appreciate it,” she said quietly, then added; “I didn’t see this coming, Pearl. Thank you.”

 

“Thank _you_ ,” Pearl whispered, “For being with me. Er, us.”


End file.
